Wordless Wednesday....almost!

I know this is supposed to be wordless but I had to share what God has done. Above is our dear precious friend, mentor and father figure Alan. He has written a book and it is due out very soon. 2 weeks ago he become ill while at their cabin in Arkansas. They thought it was maybe just a bad flu or that he had hurt his back. He became worse and they ended up taking him to the hospital. They had come to Texas for the weekend for Fathers Day weekend so they were home and surrounded my family and friends. The Doctors did test after test and had no idea what was wrong. They sent in specialist and still nothing was coming back positive. He was literally at deaths door for a couple of days. He ended up testing positive for West Nile. Today after 9 days he is being released from the hospital and is a walking miracle. The young and elderly (although he is only in his mid 60s) typically do not survive this......BUT GOD! We had the blessing of spending about an hour with him in the hospital this week and we were blown away. The look on his face was different. You knew he had been there. He spoke with TOTAL conviction and power. We are in total awe of what the Lord has done and SOOOO very grateful that our dear friend is still with us. This picture was taken when Sam was about 3 months old and Alan dedicated him.

A very special weekend..

This past weekend Trae took Jacob for his special guy weekend. It is something we do with our boys when they are 12-13 and Jacob was ready! He didn't know what he was in for but I do believe the Lord was preparing his heart. We went to church at 4pm on Saturday and the guys were going to leave from there for their time away. Jacob has never taken communion. He only drinks water and our church serves grape juice for communion. He has never pushed through that fear to go through with communion and I knew in my heart that it was his choice and that the Lord knows his heart. He wanted to do it but he didn't want to drink the juice. During worship they stopped to pass out communion and he decided right then and there that today he was going to take part. It made this mama cry to see the position of his heart and push through the fear. I am all about getting out of your comfort zone and facing your fears. While I can encourage and speak truth to him....it has to be his choice. To watch his face the moment after was priceless! He resembled someone who had just drank something very powerful!

Their weekend away was a success and Jacob enjoyed it! They stayed nearby in Fort Worth, did their sessions and projects (we use Passport To Purity), went out for some great meals and ended their time with 3 games of laser tag. You are supposed to give you teen something for them to remember their weekend by. We got Jacob an antique soldier than is plastic (something he collects) to remind him that he too is a soldier.

Sentimental Sunday....

This picture was taken a few years back at Pine Cove Family Camp. It is one of our favorites place on this planet. We are getting ready to go next month and prepare with excitement because we know what a special week awaits us. Actually that is what is always so beautiful about it....the known and the unknown. Each year we look forward to catching up with the families we haven't seen in a year, connect as a family and as a couple and leaving the daily routines at home. I have to admit that although I love cooking I love having a week with no cooking or clean up! We look forward to what awaits us and whatever the Lord might have planned for our week.

Happy Fathers Day to our dads!

Dream Father's Day!

For Father's Day I would love to offer my husband the perfect weekend! A beautiful trip to the ocean, filled with relaxation, fun and the perfect meal. That isn't going to happen this weekend BUT what is the most beautiful gift to us is that we are his dream. He doesn't have to have perfection, a grand gift or trip but he has us and we are his dream. His heart was to be married, have a family and walk in the fullness of the destiny God had for his life. This man blesses me beyond belief and to walk by his side is the best gift I could ever have. Happy Fathers Day sweetheart!

Sentimental Sunday....

I love anything old....especially pictures. This is a picture of my Grandma and Grandpa (my dads parents) in their younger years and they look carefree in love. I lost this Grandma when I was only 6 to cancer and it was the first funeral I ever went to. She was a beautiful woman who I wished I could have known more and many more years.

No pictures....

I replaced my laptop recently and my iphoto isn't up and running so I can't post new pictures. I am still taking them because the camera is just fine! So I have to be creative and do a post without pictures.

Mini updates-

Trae-Has to replant the front flower garden because he planted a flower that isn't up to his standard even after weeks of Miracle Grow.

Julie-Trying to figure out which summer project to tackle next! Many to do on the list and now I need time, energy and creativity to complete them....or at least a few of them!

Andrew-Is planning his trip to CA for this month and will be headed to Pine Cove next month with us for family camp.

Jacob-Went to his first "teen" party last night with a bunch of his homeschool friends. Can't believe I know have 2 teens. 2 teens + 1 toddler= fun and never a dull moment!

Sam-This week he has done so many new things. Started eating with a fork, said at last 5-6 new words and is still taking 2 naps a day for the most part! He will be 17 months in a week and is really connecting the dots.

The goal of parenting is to work yourself out of a job. The goal of parenting is to send young adults out into the world who are prepared to live as God’s children and as salt and light in a corrupt and broken world.

Paul David Tripp

Wordless Wednesday....

Thankful.....

Being thankful comes in many different forms. One of the blessing we are very grateful for is Natasha our precious sitter. She is a treasure and delight. Sam adores her and Jacob enjoys it when she comes too. We are able to go on dates nights or help me out during the day when I have an appointment or need some time to myself. She is 18 and has lived in the states just about 4 years. She was adopted from Russia and her new family has adopted 6 girls (5 from Russia) and I met her mom in our homeschool community. We don't know how long we will have her as she is growing up and will likely go to college this fall but we treasure the blessing!!!

Sentimental Sunday....

We took a family vacation in October 2008 a few months before Sam arrived. With Andrew growing up and with a baby on the way, we knew it would be the last vacation with just the 4 of us. I am so grateful we took that trip. I will always treasure those memories. Often times when you are pregnant they have a phrase called a "babymoon" for that one last trip before the baby arrives. We didn't do a babymoon during our pregnancy but a "familymoon"! That was the best thing for us at the time. One of the things the Lord has been teaching me is that the Holy Spirit can be very specific and to tune in and listen to what He has for me. While the Lord has been gracious to put mentors in teachers in my life he doesn't desire for me to run to them with the daily BUT to run to Him! It has been neat to see the fruit of finding His best for our family. I LOVE ocean pictures of my blessings and can't wait til we can take Sam to the ocean. We are hoping and praying our Destin beaches are kept safe from the oil disasters we have had lately if not we might have to find a new beach.

Summer favorites....

At the gathering we went to last weekend we brought a few of our summer favorites. Fresh fruit with our favorite fruit dip is always well liked and quick and easy to make. It last for a while in the fridge after too. The summer pasta salad was a new version that I tried and it was very good! I love to play around with pasta salad and see what I can come up with. My family is now used to whole grain pasta so it can actually be a healthy meal too.

Summer Pasta Salad

1 box of pasta in the shape of your choice

1 cup of sun-dried tomato dressing (you can use more or less to you liking)

1 cup of cubed monterrey jack cheese

fresh basil finely shredded

cherry tomato's cut in half

After the pasta is cooked and drained I add in the dressing, basil and tomato's. I stir well and lastly add the cheese so it doesn't melt to much. You can serve this warm or cold and when I serve it as a leftover I often add a bit more dressing as it can be a little to dry the 2nd time around. Enjoy!!!

Fruit Dip

1 8 oz block of cream cheese

1 jar of marshmallow cream

1 8 oz container of sour cream

Soften the cream cheese, mix in the marshmallow cream and add the sour cream. Stir very well and chill. I like to make it the day before so it can get good and cold. I often add a touch of red food coloring to it so that it is pink and people recognize it is a sweet dip to go with the fruit. When I leave it white I often get a lot of questions as to what it is. This easily keeps for a week afterward in the fridge.

A new word.....

This week Sam wore an outfit that a friend had given me and it had Goofy on it. After we took it off and put it in the dirty clothes he went and got it out, threw it on the floor (so the front could be seen) and pointed at Goofy and said, "dog" for the first time! After that he wanted to carry around the shirt and kept saying it. He even did a good attempt at a bark! Later that day I had a twinge of sadness that he never really got to know our dog of 15 years and that we know longer have him. We are not desiring at this time to get another dog (although Jacob is reminding us that every home should have a dog!) so Sam and Jacob will have to have a stuffed animal or love on silly Goofy shirts for now.

Memorial Day.....

The pictures are actually backwards! The one of Sam sleeping was as we drove off! We were there in the afternoon and although we had a great time it was partly during his nap-time and he let us know when we left that he needed rest. We had a great afternoon with friends. Jacob was at camp so it was just the 3 of us. We had yummy food, great conversation and lots of laughter. Our friends there all had kids too but most of them were older so they were running around and keeping busy. There was a baby there and Sam enjoyed trying to connect with him.